Sony has announced that it will be hosting a new State of Play broadcast that will focus on games from Japan and across Asia. The State of Play is slated to be live-streamed on November 11 at 2 PM PT/5 PM ET/11 PM CET, and will feature voice actor Yuki Kaji (Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan) as the host. The runtime for the State of Play will be longer than 40 minutes, and the showcase will feature indie titles as well as updates to already available titles.
While no further details have been provided about what kinds of games we will get to see at the upcoming State of Play, the broadcast is likely to feature a mix of first-party developers under the PlayStation Studios banner, as well as third-party developers of varying sizes. Considering the focus on games from Japan and other Asian countries, we will also likely see new trailers for games that have already been unveiled, and perhaps even update plans for major first-party titles like Astro Bot and Ghost of Yōtei.
The last major State of Play broadcast was held back in September, and featured more than 35 minutes for a variety of different games. Headlining the broadcast was the new title developed by the studio behind Returnal – Housemarque – dubbed Saros. This extended look gave us a great look at the main setting of Saros – the planet Carcosa – as well as the protagonist Arjun Devraj, played by Rahul Kohli.
The trailer for Saros also gave us a great look at the fast-paced gameplay in the upcoming shooter. Some of the new details showcased include the Soltari Shield that can block enemy projectiles and enhance a Power Weapon after absorbing enough incoming damage. The storytelling in the title will revolve around players discovering the fate of lost members of his crew on Carcosa through Holotag Caches, as well as by taking on tougher enemies.
More recently, Housemarque outlined the developers’ reactions to the State of Play trailer from back in September, and discussed how the studio has been refining the gameplay foundations that it had first laid down with its previous game, Returnal. Among other things, the new protagonist’s tools were mentioned by lead game designer Abebe Tinari as allowing for “entirely new strategies”.
The shield also affected how the studio would approach encounter designs, since enemies can now have more intricate attack patterns thanks to players having the option to block these attacks. Along with this, Saros will also feature new layered dynamic particle systems designed by Housemarque with reactive lighting and better rigid-body particle simulation for the projectiles.
Saros is being developed for PS5, and is slated for release on March 20, 2026. For more details, check out how Housemarque is teaming up with Nixxes and PlayStation Studios Creative Arts to make the game.
